A Pennsylvania verdict against a ski area with a tubing hill was for $2.1 million. The plaintiff was part of a group. After skiing all day a friend in the group gave him tubing tickets. He went tubing without signing the release because he already had tickets.

Risk Management Issue Number 1: how do you sell tickets and get release signed

The plaintiff went down the run and hit the stop at the bottom incurring some injuries along the way. Before he could get out of the way, another tuber hit him either increasing his injuries or creating new, worse injuries.

Risk Management Issue Number 2: how do you design a run so that the tubers are not “stopped” but slow to a gentle stop?

Risk Management Issue Number 3: how do you make sure tubers don’t run into each other?

Risk Management Issue Number 4: how do you create a safe exit from the tubing hill

The lawsuit was based on failure to warn which then brings up how many signs can you have posted or should you just put up a drive through screen to have everyone watch for an hour.

I knew a raft company that required people to hand in their release to get their PFD. No PFD you could not get on the bus to go raft.

What else could you do?

Do Something

This case is the perfect example of a combination of “errors” and an injury lead to a massive payout.

This is a great example of holes in a program. How many you can afford to fill is the biggest question. Also remember that the article was based on what the reporter figured out from attending the trial and what he was told by the plaintiff at the end of the trial. The facts might be different.

How knows what the ending may be or where this is going, we probably will never know.

35 Years of Outdoor Retailer

James Moss JD, Author

Recognized as the Go to Lawyer by the Outdoor Recreation Industry

The outdoor industry’s favorite lawyer, Moss has been known to don a toga at a show party and he learns from what he observes on the show floor. “Attending a trade show year after year allows you to watch the industry evolve, grow, change and sometimes shrink,” he says. “It shows you new sports, new activities, and new ways to get sued. Outdoor Retailer is both a barometer and an education in the outdoor recreation industry.”